Electric buses in Val Gardena

With an intriguing pilot project, Val Gardena is currently setting the first course towards electromobility in public transport. From August 9th to August 26th of this year, two electric buses will be deployed for the first time. The aim of this initiative is to gather relevant experience and data in order to gradually increase the focus on electromobility in the medium and long term.

Since the beginning of this year, the Val Gardena Mobility Center has been working on solutions to improve local mobility, reduce individual traffic within the valley, and make public transportation more attractive. This goal aims not only to enhance the quality of life for the population but also proves essential from a tourist perspective, as emphasized by Ambros Hofer, President of Val Gardena Marketing: "Increasing individual traffic brings disruptions for everyone, both locals and guests. Therefore, the search for alternatives and measures to reduce traffic volume has top priority."

The current pilot project involves the deployment of two differently sized electric buses: a 12-meter electric bus with a capacity of approximately 75 passengers and an 18-meter electric bus with seating for about 150 passengers. While the 12-meter electric bus serves all stops in the valley floor, the 18-meter electric bus functions as the Val Gardena Express, a direct line between Antoniusplatz and Plan de Gralba, omitting the Dosses and Rathaus stops in St. Christina. The buses, provided free of charge by Daimler Buses Italia for this testing phase, are powered by seven batteries with a total capacity of 441 kWh. "The reason Daimler Buses Italia supports this local zero-emissions project is the belief that full-electric low-floor vehicles (which in the past were mainly used as city buses) can also be used on demanding routes in the Alps and under extreme weather conditions such as winter (think about the 18m, which is a 6x4 vehicle!)" says Andrea Codecasa, Team Leader E-mobility Italia.

The intriguing aspect of this experiment lies not only in the insights into electromobility in public transport but also in the use of 18-meter electric buses. This presents a challenge, not only due to the required driving skills on partially narrow and heavily trafficked roads but also because of the necessary future adaptation work.

"Due to the significantly increased number of users, it is purposeful to operate buses with higher capacity in the valley floor and thus increasingly deploy 18-meter low-floor buses. However, this requires infrastructural and technical adjustments, such as those to the stops along the valley floor," agree the mayors of the municipalities in Val Gardena.

The responsible Mobility Councillor, Daniel Alfreider, also supports efforts to decarbonize the bus fleets in South Tyrol. "For several years, electric buses have been tested in South Tyrol, and thanks to new technologies, their use in non-urban areas will soon be possible," says the Councillor. According to the Councillor, Dolomites Val Gardena is taking innovative steps towards improving overall mobility, including the deployment of electric buses.